Scared Of Love
by sayheyadancer
Summary: Gabriella Montez moved to Albuquerque when her mom got transferred. There, she meets Troy Bolton…the best thing that’s ever happened to her. But it’s been 10 years from that day…10 years since she stopped believing in love. Can someone open her eyes, and
1. A New School

**A/N: **_Hey guys! I'm here with a new story. This idea has actually been in my head for a while…I just now decided to post it. :-) I feel really weird, cuz I've written half of three different things I'm working on: two are chapters, and one's a one-shot. Lol._

_I just can't seem to finish them! Argh. Anyways, enjoy this story and of course…it's TROYELLA. _

_**Summary: **Gabriella Montez moved to Albuquerque when her mom got transferred. There, she meets Troy Bolton…the best thing that's ever happened to her. But it's been 10 years from that day…10 years since she stopped believing in love. Can someone open her eyes, and show her there's nothing to be scared of? Troyella._

_**PLEASE R&R!!!!**_

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**Chapter 1**

"Gabi! Hurry up! You're going to be late!" Lisa Montez called out to her daughter from the bottom of the stairs, huffing slightly while glancing at her watch. Gabriella was going to be late for her first day at East High, since she transferred in.

"I'm coming mom!" Gabriella chanted as she skipped down the steps, and smiled at her mother. "Sorry I took so long."

Lisa eyed her daughter and spoke again, "Hurry up and grab your things. You need to go get your schedule from your new principal before school starts."

Gabriella groaned slightly, picking up her school bag by the door, and sliding her shoes on her feet. "Mom…do you have to remind me? I mean, this is like the 10th school we've moved to…and I hardly ever make friends."

"Oh Gabi…" Lisa's face softened, as she pulled her daughter in a hug, "Just be yourself. Trust me, they'll love it. Plus…we shouldn't be moving anymore since I'm already at the top of my job promoting days. Come on, just try it. Please."

"Alright…" Gabriella sighed, as her mom kissed her forehead, and they both headed out the door. "But if I get called a bookworm, and they start judging me by who I am…don't say I didn't warn you!"

Lisa laughed, "Oh Gabi…" And they both headed off in the direction of Gabriella's school, in her mother's car.

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"Okay everyone! This morning's schedule…it consists of…tick tick…let's see. Well, free period this morning will hold a convocation in the auditorium…"

Groans were heard throughout Ms. Darbus's homeroom class, once they heard this. They liked having free periods alone to do what they want, not some convocation.

"Enough!" Ms. Darbus clapped her hands together, and eyed each one of the students.

"She thinks this is enough? Wait till people start throwing tomatoes at her on stage in the auditorium today!" Chad Danforth whispered to his best friend, Troy Bolton as they both snickered.

"Boys!" Ms. Darbus shouted at the two, which made them spring back upright in their seats, "Anything you would like to share with the class?"

Chad's eyes widened, as he looked to Troy who just gave him the same look back, and then tried to come up with an excuse, "Uh well. We were just saying how…"

Chad trailed off, as someone knocked lightly on the door and then entered. In came a petite brunette, who shyly made her way to the front of the class to hand her schedule to Ms. Darbus, to make sure she was in the right room.

"Hi, I'm Gabriella Montez…I'm new here…" Gabriella trailed off, as she saw everyone in the class staring at her. But her attention was soon put back on Ms. Darbus, when she felt her schedule being snatched out of her hands and scanned over.

"Whoa man…" Chad whispered to Troy, his eyes gazing at Gabriella.

"Yeah…" Troy breathed, as he found himself looking at the most gorgeous girl he'd ever seen in his life.

"Ah yes…the new girl" Ms. Darbus said ungratefully, as she took off her reading glasses and handed Gabriella back her schedule. "You're late" She said simply as she pointed to an empty desk in the back.

"Uh sorry…" Gabriella said softly, barely loud enough for anyone to hear. She quickly moved to the seat in the back, avoiding everyone's gaze.

She sat next to an African American girl, who turned to her and smiled, holding out her hand. "Hi, I'm Taylor. It's nice to meet you!" She beamed, as Gabriella shook it lightly.

"Hi, I'm…" Gabriella started but was cut off by the booming of Ms. Darbus's voice.

"Ms. Montez! Ms. McKessie! This is the second time I've been interrupted by my very rude students…" She glared at Troy and Chad, who just looked away, "Ms. Montez, did you hear anything I just said?"

"Um…" Gabriella stuttered, feeling all eyes on her again, "No, I'm sorry."

Ms. Darbus huffed and said in a dramatic voice, "I was _saying _that the Spring Musical try-outs start in 3 weeks. By any chance, can _you _sing, Ms. Montez?"

"Uh…I don't think so…" Gabriella said cautiously. Truthfully, she has sung before. But she never thought she was good.

"Well then, since you don't think so, I bet you wouldn't mind singing a little bit for us right now?" Ms. Darbus exclaimed, clapping her hands, and Gabriella heard people snickering and whispering to each other.

"Um…" Gabriella stated, and people started laughing, because they thought that was her singing. She turned to Taylor for help, as she just whispered,

"You don't have to sing if you don't want to."

"Ms. Montez, do you or do you not want to share your 'singing' ability to the rest of the class?" Ms. Darbus snapped, getting impatient.

"No" Gabriella let out quickly, and then lowered herself into her seat. Gabriella felt like crying; it was her first day, and she's already gotten embarrassed in front of the whole class.

This day was not going to go well.

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The bell sounded for the end of homeroom. Gabriella quickly gathered her things and practically ran to the door. Not looking where she was going, she tried to file out of the class, the same time as another person and ended up being slammed against a locker right outside the door.

"Ow!" Gabriella squealed, as she clutched onto her elbow, it already turning red from the slam against the locker.

"Oh my…I'm so sorry, are you okay?" A male's masculine voice suddenly exclaimed, touching Gabriella's shoulder, giving her shoulders.

Gabriella slowly turned around and saw herself staring into the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes she had ever seen. "Um…hi" Gabriella said breathlessly, as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ears, that had fallen into her eyes, and stood up straight.

"Hi…" Troy trailed off, as he stuck out his hand. "I'm Troy Bolton" He introduced, and Gabriella cautiously took his hand and shook it.

Whether they were realizing it or not, they stood there shaking hands for about a minute or so, until Gabriella realized he was probably waiting for her to say something. She blushed and answered back, "It's nice to meet you Troy. I'm Gabriella Montez."

"And so I've heard" Troy laughed, and Gabriella looked away sheepishly. "Well-I didn't mean that in a bad way of course…" Troy quickly added on, making Gabriella giggle.

"It's okay" Gabriella assured him, and they both smiled at each other.

"TROY!" Chad yelled at his best friend from down the hall, and Troy and Gabriella let go of each other's hand immediately. "Come on, we'll be late to the gym for free period!"

"Coming!" Troy shouted in the other direction before turning back to Gabriella. "Uh-it was nice meeting you. Hopefully we can uh…meet again sometime?" He stuttered, making Gabriella laugh again, and he just scratched the back of his neck as he backed away.

"Sure…" Gabriella said softly, before waving at him, and turning around to find her next class.

Troy smiled to himself, before jogging off to the direction of his friends.

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_Okay. So it was your typical meet between boy and girl…but really, this story ahs just got started. I'm going to try and keep this story shorter tan my other ones…guess we'll have to wait and see how it turns out! Lol._

_Sorry for not updating my other stories this weekend. Trust me, I have over half of the chapters written for them! I just can't seem to finish them…argh. Haha._

_Anyways, I'll update soon, and **PLEASE REVIEW!!!!**_


	2. Baby I'm Amazed By You

**A/N: **_Hey guys! I'm updating again! So sorry it took me awhile to put the second chapter up…I thought of the total chapter in my head today during school(uh, yeah) today, so hope you guys like it!_

_**PLEASE R&R!!!!!!**_

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**Chapter 2: **Baby I'm Amazed By You

Putting the dirty dishes into the sink, Gabriella blew out a breath, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. She quickly wiped her hands on her new skirt, part of her uniform for the restaurant she worked at.

"Gabriella, new table!" Her boss whispered over to her, and her eyes flew to a father and daughter sitting in a booth, enjoying their time together.

Tears stung Gabriella's eyes as she watched them interact, and wished she could do that. She blinked them back suddenly, walking over to the pair. "Hello, my name is Gabriella. I will be your waitress today, now what may I get you?"

"Hello! I would like the chicken breast and a side order of mashed potatoes, no gravy. Oh and an iced tea, please." The man stated, as Gabriella smiled and jotted down the information on her notepad, before turning to the daughter.

The girl was small and petite, and looked about to be the age of 5. She had dark brown hair, and a goofy grin plastered onto her face.

"Tell the nice lady what you would like, pumpkin" The man told his daughter sweetly.

Gabriella watched as the girl grabbed onto the sides of the menu with her small fingertips, and pointed to one of the courses. "That. Mac and cheese, pwease! Oh and with a Dr. Pepper!" She giggled, making Gabriella grin widely.

After noting that last meal, she looked up again to see the father's arm on his daughter, smiling at her gently. She could tell the man was so proud of his daughter, as if it was her first time ordering her meal herself.

A fresh pool of water came and blocked Gabriella's vision again, but she quickly wiped her eyes, "Um, thanks guys! Your meal will be out in about 10 to 15 minutes!"

Before the father and daughter could see Gabriella anymore, she turned and headed straight to the counter to turn in the order. Looking stressed, Gabriella gruffly snapped the clip onto the thin piece of paper and called out, "New order!"

Another waitress, her new friend Taylor McKessie, who she met at school, walked over to her. "Gabi…would you like me to take the next set of people?" She asked her kindly, knowing fully well she was upset about something.

"Yes, thank you Taylor" Gabriella said, relieved. She put her hands on the counter and let out a deep breath. She didn't know how much more she could stand.

Taylor grinned and nodded, walking away. Gabriella stood on her own two feet again, shuffled over to the drink machine, and started getting the drinks ready. After she had gotten the Dr. Pepper, and iced tea, she put them on the tray.

With one hand, she carefully carried the tray back over to the two she just waited on, and laid the drinks out in front of them. "One iced tea, and one Dr. Pepper!" She said, trying to sound as cheerful as could be.

She knew she had succeeded when the two thanked her and started sipping their drinks silently. At that moment, more people came walking in through the door.

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"Hm…it's been a while since I've been here, guys" Chad said, as he, Troy, Jason, and Zeke walked into the restaurant, hungry as could be.

Troy let his eyes lurk around the room, seeing if he recognized anyone, and his eyes flew to a table where a man started talking to a brunette haired girl, "Thank you miss."

"Gabriella! Order up!" A voice from the back called out, and the brunette haired girl that Troy noticed, turned her head away from Troy and called out, "Okay!"

"That must be your order…I'll be right back!" Gabriella said sweetly to the two at the table, and hurried along towards the back with her tray and started loading plates onto it.

Troy suddenly felt a shove into his elbow and he turned to see Chad nodding over to Gabriella. "Dude, that's the new chick, Gabriella Montez. You know, I think the one you ran into yesterday?"

Troy just nodded, as he gazed at Gabriella, who was now walking back over to the table holding the tray with one hand yet again. He stared her up and down, amazed at how small she was, but yet so beautiful. He watched her flip her hair backwards self-consciously, as she set the plates in front of the father and daughter. Her dark curls tumbled down her back gracefully, and Troy felt himself drooling.

"Hello guys, are there just four of you?" A voice called out, and Troy snapped out of his trance and he focused on the African American girl in front of him, which he recognized as Taylor McKessie.

"Yep" He heard Jason answered, and Troy just stuffed his hands in his pockets, and stared hard down at the floor, feeling embarrassed about how he was staring at Gabriella.

They all walked over to a booth, and sat down, Troy on the outside of one side. He tried hard not to look Gabriella's way, but ended up sneaking a glance every 5 seconds, and he noticed she had now settled behind the cash register.

"Dude, and that was Taylor, you know in our homeroom class" He distantly heard Zeke say to the rest of the guys, who now started making small chat.

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"Gabriella! You can put a new song in the jukebox now, if you want!" A waitress named Rebecca called out to her, and handed her the money for it.

"Thanks" Gabriella said in a small voice to the girl, and started making her way to the jukebox, which was by the bathrooms in the corner. She felt someone's eyes on her, and she turned her head to the left, to see Troy Bolton sitting in the booth looking at her.

He quickly turned his head when she caught him, and suddenly her face felt all flushed. _Oh my God…Troy's here._

She quickened her pace, and finally made her way to the other side where the jukebox was, and put in her coins. Gabriella thought curiously, as she used the dial to switch through different records and songs.

Gabriella was so busy flipping through the discs, trying to choose a song, that she didn't hear anyone come up behind her. "Hey" A voice said shyly.

Whipping her head around sharply, she took an intake of breath when she saw Troy standing there grinning at her. "Hey…" She replied back, giving him a relaxing smile, before turning back to the jukebox.

Troy stepped forward a bit and watched Gabriella as she numbly scrolled through the songs. "Um…so I didn't know you worked here…" Troy stated, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Yeah, ever since yesterday…" Gabriella yet again replied, this time staring up into Troy's eyes as she spoke.

Troy could feel the uneasiness in her voice, and saw it in her eyes too. For a moment, they both just looked at each other, as if no one else were in the room.

Without noticing, Gabriella pressed play on one of the song's, and as the music echoed throughout the restaurant, she turned her head the other way and looked down at the ground.

They both stood there silently for a moment, listening to which song she had chosen by accident. Through their ears, "Baby I'm Amazed By You" by Lonestar flowed through them, and Gabriella felt her face go red.

"_Every time our eyes meet…this feeling inside me…is almost more than I can take…"_

At that moment, Gabriella chose to look up at Troy again, who instantly stared back down at her. She could almost hear him swallow hard, before saying, "Good song choice" and nodding over to the jukebox.

She giggled for a moment. "Uh yeah, that was by accident. But um, yes it's…it's a good song" Gabriella stuttered, and she felt hot when she noticed she had fumbled her lines in front of the basketball captain.

"Gabriella! Customers!" Her boss shouted from across the room, gesturing over to the crowded restaurant of people.

"Oh right!" Gabriella called out apologetically, and then turned to Troy once more. "Well, um I have to go now I guess…" She trailed, off and he immediately nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay then" Troy said quickly, smiling at her.

Gabriella studied him for a moment, and then laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you in school Troy" Gabriella whispered to him, and then walked briskly passed him, sliding her hand off his shoulder along the way.

Troy stood there in a daze for a moment, touching the spot where Gabriella's hands just were. He smiled to himself…

"_I wanna spend the rest of my life…with you by my side…forever and ever…" _The sound flowed throughout the room, as Troy headed into the men's bathroom, shaking his head out of his trance.

Back on the other side of the restaurant, Gabriella stood next to the countered and watched as Troy walked into the bathroom. _"Every little thing that you do…baby I'm amazed by you…"_

Smiling to herself, Gabriella gathered up plates and got to work again.

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_DONE!!!! Well not with the whole story of course, but with the chapter. Hope you guys liked it, kind of a little Troy/Gabi moment there for you all. There's nothing real mysterious going on right now in the story, but if you have any questions, ask._

_Well off to go update some more, and I promise the next chapter of this will be up soon! Thanks for reading!_

_**PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW:-)**_


	3. Why Wouldn't I Care?

**A/N: **_Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the lack of updates by me! I thought I was going to have tons of extra time during Spring Break, but it turns out not! And school is being really mean to me...I'm in the last 7 weeks of it…And I cannot wait till it's over!_

_Anyways, I had my first dance competition of the year last week…it went pretty well! So with that finished, let's get to the chapter! Hope you guys like it, I tried to make it my best…_

_**PLEASE R&R!!!!**_

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**Chapter 3: **Why Wouldn't I Care?

Gabriella flew past a few students, mainly the bad ones, early the next morning. During her short few days at East High, she already knew the certain kids who almost never went to class during school. And that's how she knew she was late.

1 minute late to be exact. She heard the bell rang seconds before she had shut her locker door, and now she was speeding down the hallway in her ballet flats, out of breath as she neared Ms. Darbus's classroom.

She stopped at the door, out of shortness of breath, and pushed her curled bangs to the side, before shakily opening the door. Gabriella heard Ms. Darbus stop talking in the middle of a dreaded discussion about the school's latest musical.

Everyone's eyes were on Gabriella, as she gulped and made her way quickly to her desk. "Ah Miss Montez…decided to join us haven't you?" Ms. Darbus started, removing her glasses, "Detention, 5 minutes, after school. Don't be late" She added harshly.

Gabriella bit her lip as she neared her seat, and then sunk down deep into it, still feeling all the students eyes on her, but mostly Troy.

And he was still staring at her, even after everyone had gone back to listening to Ms. Darbus. Gabriella didn't notice though, because she was still staring down at her desk, completely embarrassed about what had happened minutes before.

"Mr. Bolton clearly Miss Montez is a lot more interesting than me telling some needed information that you need to know…" Ms. Darbus said randomly, and Troy fiercely turned around in his seat, the heat creeping up his cheeks.

Gabriella's head shot up at this, just in time to see Troy turning in his seat. She now felt people staring at her all over again, although most turned to Troy, but some were looking curiously back and forth at the two.

"Detention you too, for 5 minutes Mr. Bolton. Now where were we before we got interrupted a _second _time…ah, here we go, now about the musical…" Ms. Darbus droned on, and everyone silently groaned at the torture.

Gabriella tried her hardest not to look at Troy, but now she was just confused. Why_ was_ he looking at her? Gabriella pondered her mind almost the whole homeroom, but something that Ms. Darbus said caught up with her,

"Now one last thing. These are permission forms for the whole 10th grade to visit the art museum next week. We need your parents to sign these, and you'll be good to go! If you don't get them signed, then you will be in study hall the whole day while the rest of us are at the museum."

_Parents…how did I know THAT would come up? _Gabriella thought bitterly, but still felt some tears well up inside her eyes. Suddenly, the bell rang, causing Gabriella to snap from her thoughts.

"Come on girl, let's get to Chemistry!" She heard her new friend Taylor say cheerfully, as Gabriella quickly gathered up her stuff and they headed out of the room. "By the way, why were you late?"

"Um…" Gabriella started, but stopped when she passed Troy and the rest of the jocks in the hallway, "Uh I don't know. Just having a rough morning, you know?" She told her nervously, knowing that Troy overheard her.

"Oh" Taylor just replied with a shrug, and they continued to walk down the hall, and away from Troy.

But not before Gabriella looked over her shoulder first.

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Free period came slowly for Troy, as he slammed his locker door and started down the hallway towards the gym. Chad had been giving him a rough time the whole morning, bugging him about staring at Gabriella.

Troy felt his cheeks turn a shade of red as he thought of it. He hadn't meant to be staring at her, and he didn't even quite realize he was doing it until Ms. Darbus caught him. But he was just feeling sorry for her. He was sure it wasn't easy being the new girl, and also being late to class, having everyone being curious about her and where she came from.

He himself, felt embarrassed for acting the way he did. He was sure that she thought he was just another one of the curious people. To be truthful, the girl was seriously messing with his head. He had never felt this way about a girl, a girl he happened to not know a lot about.

But he knew there was something…something about this girl which made him tick. And he was going to figure it out…

"Hey! Troy! Are you with us in there?" He heard his friend, Zeke Baylor, snicker, causing him to snap out of his trance and look at his friend, who was smirking at him.

"Don't even say it…" Troy grumbled, knowing exactly what he was thinking, and didn't feel like dealing with another 'Chad' during free period.

Zeke laughed, "Sorry man, it's just kind of funny, you know? Anyways, you coming to the free period work-out with us?" He asked, patting Troy on the back.

"Yeah man, I'll just meet up with you there" Troy answered, and Zeke nodded, walking away. Troy himself was about to head to the gym, when all of a sudden he heard a voice flowing through the auditorium doors.

He looked around to make sure nobody was watching, and moved closer to the doors so he could listen in better. Troy had to admit, whoever was singing, was REALLY good. He could hear the piano playing, and suddenly the whole thing stopped.

Troy glanced down at his watch, as he leaned against the door of the auditorium. He was going to be late for free period; but then again, he bit his lip as the music started playing again. Opening the door quietly with his hand, Troy slipped inside the room without a word to anyone.

Tip-toeing softly against the floor, he moved behind a wall, and peeked around it so he could get a view of who was singing. His eyes widened, as he realized it was Gabriella Montez, the girl he was oh so crazy about.

She looked so comfortable up on the stage, pressing down on the piano keys lightly. She sang along to a song, and Troy could immediately understand it was something that meant a lot to her.

_I miss you,  
I miss your smile,  
And I still shed a tear  
Every once in a while_

And even though it's different now,  
You're still here somehow,  
My heart won't let you go,  
And I need you to know,

I miss you,  
Shalalalala,  
I miss you

Troy stood up, once she was finished, and almost couldn't move. He gaped at the girl in front of him; he didn't know how much more beautiful she could get, especially with the voice and all.

He moved out of his aisle, and walked toward the front of the stage as secretly as he could. He saw Gabriella with her head down on the piano top, but what he didn't see was that she was crying.

When he padded up the steps to the stage, he heard a soft muffling of sobs. Troy was suddenly worried, as he inched closer and closer to her, whispering, "Gabriella?"

Gabriella lifted her head slowly, to see Troy Bolton staring at her with a befuddled expression. She wiped her eyes quickly, hoping Troy didn't notice her crying. But he most likely did, with the worried look on his face.

"Oh uh-Troy…what are you doing here?" She asked him, wondering, because if she remembered correctly, he's usually in the gym during this time.

"Uh…" Troy started, not knowing what to say. He forgot all about the basketball team up until now, and he was starting to worry what everyone was going to think, mostly Chad, once they discovered he wasn't going to come. "I was just walking by and heard you singing…"

"Oh…you heard that?" Gabriella asked shyly, slightly groaning to herself for singing that loud.

Troy chuckled and sat down next to her on the piano bench, when he realized she was on the very end of it. "Yeah, you're really good, so don't deny it…" He told her, giving her one of those crazy smiles.

Gabriella almost felt her heart melt as she stared at him and smiled lightly; any other person would probably just laughed at her. But he wasn't any other person; he was Troy Bolton, someone very interesting to her.

Confused, she watched as Troy put his hands on the piano keys and started playing back some of the music she was playing earlier. "Wh-what…" She said with amazement, as he finished and smiled at her,

"My mom made me take piano lessons when I was about 13 years old, because I got in huge trouble for not calling before I spent the night at Chad's house…" He chuckled, remembering how mad and tortured he felt about it.

Gabriella was now giggling herself, "You serious?"

Troy was blinded by her laugh, "Yeah I'm dead serious. But I guess it came in handy now, didn't it?" He asked her, grinning like a fool.

"Yeah…it sure did…" Gabriella said softly, now dazed by the intent gaze his blue eyes held on her. They sure were nerving at time, and other times she wanted to get lost in them forever. Gabriella finally shook her head, and then turned back to the keys.

But before she had a chance to play again, she felt someone put a finger under her chin, and turn her head back towards Troy. He was staring at her with the same worried expression he had earlier, "Now what was up with the crying?"

She smiled, "Why do you care so much about me?" She asked him, finally trying to get the answer she was pondering ever since she moved here.

The bell suddenly sounded, signaling the end of free period. He grinned at her, and stood up while doing so. "Gabriella…you're my friend, and you seem really nice. Why wouldn't I care?" He told her, sounding kind of disappointed that she thought he didn't care.

Gabriella turned to him to respond, but he had already hopped off the stage and was jogging up towards the exit of the auditorium. She sighed and turned towards the piano. Gabriella looked up, and her eyes were immediately blinded by the light,

"Oh God, why is life so confusing?" She said to herself, before getting up and closing the piano top, heading quickly to her next class.

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_Chapter finished! I hope you all liked it, I thought it was a cute idea to get Troy and Gabriella talking. I already have a great idea for the chapter, so I should be getting that up as soon as I can. _

_Hope you guys forgive me for not updating quickly, and I will be trying to get the next one up soon soon soon! Happy Easter!_

_**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**_


	4. You're Interesting To Me

**A/N: **_Hey, this is a quick update for me! Hehe. I'm going out of order here. I can't seem to find the words to put the next chapter of High School Never Ends in, but I'm working on it! Also, I'm working on the last chapter of He Shoots, She Dances so be ready:-)_

_Anyways, I also have some other plans. I'm making a comeback on a one-shot since Valentine's Day, and it's going to be a Troyella. I don't know when I can find the time to write it, but I will shortly!_

_Anyways, let's get to the chapter, okay?_

_**PLEASE R&R!!!!!**_

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**Chapter 4: **You're Interesting To Me

Tons of sophomore students chattered and noisily made their way off the buses and into the Albuquerque Art Museum. It was the next week, and the students were on their field trip that Ms. Darbus informed the students about the week before.

As Troy and Chad made their way off the bus, Chad kept bugging Troy about his 'disappearance' last week. "Dude, why can't you just see the big deal about missing practice?" Chad shouted to Troy, who was now rolling his eyes.

"Chad, just shut up will you? It was free period, which means kids are free to do what they _want _to!" Troy shot back, folding his arms across his chest, as he followed the group of students heading inside the building, "And believe it or not, I practice way too much" Troy muttered under his breath, although Chad didn't hear.

Instead, he just continued on blabbering as if Troy hadn't said anything at all, "Seriously, Cap'n, we need you. And instead, you decide to hang out with some chick in the auditorium?"

"Hey! Gabriella is not some chick! She's a perfectly normal human being, more normal than you believe it or not, so just be quiet!" Troy said in an outrage, leaning against the doorframe once inside the building, seeing all the other kids stop as well.

Chad rolled his eyes at this, "Oh my god, you're in love with her, aren't you?"

Troy slowly turned his head towards Chad, wide-eyed. "I am not!" He argued back, "I barely even know her!"

Chad snorted, and patted his friend on the back, "And yet, this is the first girl EVER that you minded when I called her a chick. The others you were just like, 'Well she's hot, and she's got big'…"

"Chad!" Troy cut in, "I think I get it. Besides…I think you're mistaking me with you" He grumbled at the end, and walked off when the other students started moving.

"Oh, yeah! Well, fine then. Just become some fairytale princess…just FINE with me!" Chad called after him, but all he got in response was a shake of the head by Troy, seeing him catch up with the rest of the basketball team.

"Chad, you do know it's a little weird for you to yell something like _that _in an art museum?" Taylor McKessie whispered to Chad out of nowhere, making him jump.

"Whoa…science nerd…when did YOU get here?" He smirked, turning towards Taylor who was with Gabriella.

Taylor rolled her eyes, "Once I got off the buses like the rest of the normal 10th grade class, idiot…" She shot back, but then glanced over Chad, "Well…almost normal."

Gabriella just bit her lip, and watched the intensity and the interaction between Taylor and Chad. It was quite interesting at the very least, watching them bicker over who knows what.

Suddenly, Troy came jogging back over, once he saw Taylor and Chad fighting. It was, after all, a very hilarious sight. "Uh, guys?" He asked unsure of himself, and then realizing neither person was paying attention to him.

He finally turned his attention to the brunette standing off to the side with her eyebrows raised, "Uh hey Gab…"

"Um, let's get out of here" Gabriella said quickly, grabbing a hold on Troy's arm and leading him away from the two who were now fighting over what kind of fight they were in,

"Heated discussion!" Taylor shot, but Chad disagreed, "No! A FIGHT!"

"See what I mean?" Gabriella asked Troy, watching him nod in disbelief and she giggled at him. He turned to her when he heard her giggle. Troy grinned at her, and then walked away.

"Wait…where are you going?"

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Later on during the field trip, the pairs were finally split up, Taylor and Gabriella somewhere in the madness, and Troy and Chad somewhere else.

Listening to the tour guide drone on and on about some painting, the two girls blew out long breaths. Gabriella leaned over to Taylor and whispered, "Good God…I've always loved art, but how long can you go on about a painting the Picasso drew hundreds of years ago!"

Taylor snorted, "Yeah really. Fighting with _Chad _is a lot less boring!"

Gabriella glanced over at Taylor and glared at her, "Yeah and also incredibly annoying to listen to you guys fight over what kind of a fight you are having, over and over and over…"

"Okay! I get it!" Taylor cut into her friend, attracting some of the attention of students around her, so she lowered her voice to a whisper, "Besides...I saw the color drain from your face when Troy started talking to you."

Gabriella gulped, and suddenly felt all sweaty. "Oh come on Tay…that's impossible! I've only known him for like, what? A week?" She answered back, sighing.

Taylor didn't respond, just simply nudged Gabriella in the ribs, that giving out a clear answer. Gabriella sighed, with the little time that she had known Taylor, she knew what that meant. One, that she didn't believe her, and two, nothing's impossible.

But for some reason, the brunette thought she would never give in…never EVER again…

"Gabriella, come on, we're moving" Taylor suddenly said, and Gabriella struck her attention back to reality. She followed Taylor and the rest of the crowd, and she noticed people were now free to look around at whatever they want.

Taylor started blabbing about who knows what, but Gabriella wasn't paying attention anymore. She was just looking at all the cool statues and figures around the room, amazed. Apparently Taylor didn't seemed to notice so now she was basically talking to herself.

Gabriella stopped at a very interesting red, swirl, circular statue(I don't know what they call it, and sorry if you don't get it…I hardly get it myself!), that ran about 6 feet downward. She gaped at the weird looking thing, and moved slowly on and on the statue…

A figure on the other side of the statue shadowed over Gabriella, and she looked up to see Troy smirking at her. The only thing between them was the statue, and she saw that he held a very mischievous glance. She started moving down some more, but the only thing Troy did was follow her lead.

To test him, she moved backwards to see that he did the same thing. She narrowed her eyes, and crossed her arms. _Obviously he thinks this is funny _Gabriella thought, fighting hard not to smile.

Troy just stood there grinning like a fool, moving whenever she did, and stopping whenever she did. Finally, she had had enough and stopped all together, "Okay _what _are you doing?" She asked him in frustration.

He just shrugged. "What you do" He answered simply, and seeing her growl at him he laughed, "Come on Gabriella, have a little fun. I know you want to…"

"See there you go again" Gabriella cut in the middle of Troy's sentence, and he stopped and furrowed his brow, "You act like you've known me forever. But really…what do we know about each other?"

He frowned, "That's my point Gabriella. I've been trying to get to know you…but you haven't been letting me, have you?" He asked her. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. "But at least try to let me, please?"

She looked up into his hopeful eyes, and couldn't help but smile. Gabriella didn't know what attracted this boy to her most, but it wasn't him that was scaring her. It was herself, and she didn't know what to do. Not able to stand it any longer she finally blew out a breath and gave in, "Okay, okay. But I still don't see what's interesting about me…"

Troy, hearing that last part, just stared at the girl in front of him. "A lot of things Gabriella…" He smiled, as she grinned back, "A lot of things."

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

_Hmm…do we have a reluctant miss Gabriella here? Or do we have a desperately in love Troy? Or do we have a Gabriella that's confused? Ahh…all of these questions will be answered soon!_

_I'm off to start working on a one-shot I've thought of…hope you guys will like it!!! Next chapter will be posted after the last chapter of He Shoots, She Dances. Thanks guys!_

_**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**_


	5. Please, Just Leave

**A/N: **_Hey guys! I'm so, so sorry for my lack of updating. I really hope you guys aren't getting too impatient with me although I know some of you probably are. I really have been busy, and this weekend I actually have a free weekend so far, so I'm hoping to get some more updating in! _

_Okay, I guess I'll get on with the story. This chapter I am not sure where it will go, but hopefully it will turn out great!_

_**PLEASE R&R!!!!**_

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**Chapter 5: **Please, Just Leave

Over the next few days, nothing much had really changed. But for some reason, this day was as if something hit a shockwave between Troy and Gabriella. Who felt it? None other but Troy and Gabriella.

That morning in homeroom, Gabriella came in and took a seat, but not before stealing a glance at Troy as she walked by. Troy's eyes trailed after her, as she sat down in her seat and started talking quietly to Taylor.

"Dude, you're whipped" Chad whispered to his best friend, only receiving a glare back at him. But before Troy could respond, Ms. Darbus came in with a glum look on her face.

Good morning students…" She said sadly. Everyone froze what they were doing, and turned their attention to her. Was Ms. Darbus actually greeting them _good morning_?

"Ms. Darbus…you like, told us 'good morning'!" Chad blurted out, and everyone turned to stare at him. From the looks he was getting, this was obviously not the right time for his obnoxious self.

"And so I did…" Ms. Darbus mumbled, turning around and quietly brushing a tear from her face before sniffing, and turning back around.

From the back, everyone suddenly heard a quiet voice speak out, "Ms. Darbus…is everything okay?" Gabriella asked very nicely.

The whole class turned to stare at her, but Gabriella paid no attention. She was too busy looking towards Ms. Darbus's way, hoping to get an answer. Ms. Darbus sighed, and took her glasses off quickly. "Very well…I'm just sad, because yesterday I got a call from my mother. My father…he-he died in his sleep the night before."

The whole class turned dead silent; no one sure what to say to that. Ms. Darbus suddenly had tears sliding down her whole face. The only one who hadn't been paying attention to Ms. Darbus was Troy, because he was too busy staring at Gabriella the whole time.

And he saw something confusing to him. Gabriella had turned pale, and she looked like she was about to cry. All of a sudden she threw a glance his way, and then kept her head down quickly.

He could almost here her swallow hard; as if suddenly the world was sinking in around her. Quietly, she raised her hand slightly, and Ms. Darbus nodded at her.

"Um may I-I use the bathroom please?" Gabriella's voice came out, almost as a whisper. It was visible that tears were in her eyes, and were threatening to let out. Ms. Darbus could tell to and answered a quick 'yes'.

Gabriella grabbed all her stuff, and without another hesitated glance at Troy, she burst out of the door with no explanation to anyone. With an erupted talk about where she was going, Taylor stood up and ran out of the room after her.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

As soon as the bell rang to sound homeroom ending, Troy jetted out of his seat and out of the room as fast as he could. He saw Taylor looking both direction worriedly, and he walked over to her.

"Taylor…where's Gabriella?" Troy asked her impatiently trying to see what she was looking at, if anything.

Taylor turned back to Troy, "I don't know. When I came out here afterward, she didn't even GO to the bathroom! I have no clue where she is."

Troy sighed. _Come on Troy, think. Where do you think Gabriella would be? _This was harder than he thought it would be, considering he doesn't know her that well. Oh so he thought. Then suddenly, a light bulb clicked in his head. _Of COURSE._

He took off running, ignoring Taylor yelling at him and asking where he was going. Shoving through the crowded halls, he screeched to a stop in front of the auditorium doors. Troy looked around the halls, making sure know one was watching him so nobody could follow him in, and then he opened the doors soundlessly.

Hearing that music playing on the piano again, he smiled softly to himself. He knew she was here this time, although he still didn't know why. Then suddenly her voice filled the whole area,

"_For all those times you stood by me…for all the truth that you made me see…for all the joy you brought to my life…for all the wrong that you made right."_

Gulping, Troy decided it was best to crouch down in the very last row of seats, and just listen. He felt as if there was nothing that he could do about it anyways.

After singing the first chorus, Gabriella came to a stop, banging her fists hard on the piano chords. Taking a deep breath, Gabriella closed her eyes and let it all out. Her pain came out in tears, and Troy sat and watched Gabriella as she wept to herself on the stage.

Standing up, Troy was prepared to run up there and throw Gabriella into a hug, comforting her. But for some reason as he made a move to walk, something stopped him. _Troy…she just needs to be alone right now._

Troy sighed, and instead of walking up to the stage, he walked right out of the auditorium.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Walking slowly down the halls, Gabriella made her way through crowds, tears inevitable on her cheeks. She heard the whispers of people, wondering what had been said to the "smart girl" to make her cry.

That only wanted to make Gabriella cry harder.

Before she could make a move to impulsively run to the bathroom and cry her eyes out, she felt a comforting hand placed on her shoulder. After only a few short days, she could recognize that hand from anywhere. She did stop, but she never turned around.

"Leave, Troy" Gabriella hissed, using her shoulder to guide his hand off.

"Gabriella…I heard you in the auditorium…" Troy said softly after a moment, and that made Gabriella feel like crying even harder.

Choking on her sobs, Gabriella turned around finally. Then she demanded venomously, "I want you to stay out of the auditorium next time. I don't want you anywhere near there when I'm there!"

Troy was taken aback. When Gabriella had turned around, he saw the hurt evident in her eyes. But he only wanted to HELP. "Gabriella… I want to be there for you…like a friend…" He whispered, seeing Gabriella's face soften slightly.

But after a moment, that soften was gone, and changed back into anger. "Well I don't need you to be…so please just leave me alone" She stated, and then turned around and backed away from Troy.

Nothing felt more as a sting in the heart to Troy, than those words said.

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

_Poor Troy, and poor Gabriella. I'm getting quite upset with myself while writing this story, but don't worry, things will get better soon. Well definitely not the next chapter, but sometime after that._

_Again…I am so sorry for my lack of updates! Jeez, I'm really upset with myself now. Anyways, that song that Gabriella sung was "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion._

_**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**_


	6. Friends

**A/N: **_Well I finished all my packind and stuff for when I leave for my trip tomorrow morning…and I decided to be nice and write this chapter up quickly. :-) lol, no totally kidding, I'm writing it up because I actually have time, and I would never want to leave you guys hanging for long._

_By the way, this chapter should not be a filler. I'm pretty sure it shouldn't, anyway._

_**PLEASE R&R!!!**_

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**Chapter 6: **Friends

Troy opened the doors to the restaurant, and immediately started straying his eyes over the swarm of people. He sighed deeply, about to walk out of the place when he heard a familiar sweet voice.

"If you're done with your plate, I can sure take that for you?" Gabriella asked a man sitting at one of the tables, and Troy's eyes instantly locked on her.

"Thank you miss" The man said gratefully, as Gabriella gave him a soft smile and reached over to grab the plate. After standing straight up again, and putting the plate on her tray, she was about to go back to the kitchen, but felt someone's eyes on her.

She turned around, only to see Troy's blue eyes staring towards her direction. Gabriella drew out a long breath that blew a piece of hair that was in her face out of the way. Turning back around, Gabriella sauntered over to the back, and out of Troy's sight.

Troy sighed. _This could be harder than I thought_ Troy said to himself in his mind, and then took his seat at an empty table near the kitchen. He silently tapped his fingers onto the table, and watched as a perky blonde that worked there head his way.

"Hi my name is Sarah, may I start you off with something to drink, Troy?" She giggled at him. Troy recognized her from school and felt himself rolling his eyes inside.

"Yeah a coke, please" Troy said quickly, his eyes grazing over the kitchen door, waiting for Gabriella to come out of there. The blonde huffed away, and he felt himself relax slightly.

The doors suddenly opened, and Gabriella walked out of them. Noticing Troy right off the bat, she stared at him for a second and gave him a noticeable frown. Troy stood up, not caring what she thought, and he headed over to her.

"Gabi…Gabriella, please just talk to me" Troy pleaded, and Gabriella saw his begging in his eyes. She crossed her arms and looked away, crushing a desperate Troy.

Not looking at him she responded, "Troy I've told you. I just need my space-my life is…complicated." Gabriella decided to end it there, not wanting to get into a full blown discussion about her life.

Turning to walk away, she felt someone grab a hold of her hand. "Now just hold it a sec, will you?" Troy asked her, and no matter what she tried to do, Gabriella felt herself turning back around curious to what he had to say to her.

"I'm not expecting you to give me a Hollywood story here Gabriella…I just want to be a friend. And pardon me, but I know my parents have always told me that as long as you have a friend around to talk to, it'll make your life a whole heck of a lot easier. So maybe…if you give me the chance, and we just got to know each other…would it hurt to much for you to at least do _that_?" Troy continued, dropping Gabriella's hand at the hand.

Gabriella just stood there shocked. He had said all the things he wanted him NOT to say…but that was because they were all the RIGHT things to say. _Gabi maybe you should give him a chance…_

She glanced up into his eyes one more time, and saw his questioning. Maybe this could be it…maybe she could finally confide in someone about her past, and Troy could help her overcome it. Whatever she saw in his eyes, it made her go for it,

"Okay Troy."

Troy looked at Gabriella surprised. He saw her looking back with a slight smile, and that's when he broke out into a grin. "Gabi…thank you. I'm your friend, and I'm here to help. I hope you know that…"

Gabriella giggled. "Oh I think I do Troy…and thanks. Maybe, maybe later we could hang out and get to know each other?" She asked nervously, but saw that he was still smiling.

"Sure…when does your shift end?" Troy asked her, stuffing his hands back into his jean pockets.

Gabriella glanced to her watch. "Um…about a half and hour. You could probably just stay here if you want…"

Troy chuckled, "Oh I will. Besides, I think that blonde's coming back here to give me my coke that I ordered…" He told her, pointing to the girl that was fixing up her hair really quickly, before grabbing the coke and heading over towards him.

Troy gave Gabriella a quick pained look though, "But do hurry. I think she likes me and uh…it's starting to scare me."

Gabriella just laughed.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

About an hour later, Troy and Gabriella found themselves laughing as they headed out of the doors of Jiffy Treat.

"No seriously, you really fell off a tree when you were a little kid because you were trying to act like Spiderman, and thought you could use your web to fly?" Gabriella asked, trying to stifle back a laugh while licking her ice cream cone.

Troy gave Gabriella a playful shove, "Hey! It wasn't my fault I didn't know I wasn't going to be able to fly. But the suit did add onto my appearance…I could've totally passed for a Spiderman mini-me."

Gabriella threw her head back and laughed. "Oh…maybe…if you wouldn't have fallen off!" She exclaimed, earning herself a glare back from Troy.

"Well enough about me….what about you?" Troy asked her, as they both sat down and settled onto a park bench. Gabriella sighed and fiddled with her hands,

"Oh me? My life was…very, very boring."

Troy gave her an incredulous look. "For a girl who seems so upbeat, how can your life be BORING? Come on…I want to know some inside 'dirt' on you" He joked, and she just rolled her eyes.

"Alright, alright" Gabriella started crankily, "Well I did have a dog when I was little. I took very good care of it…until one day I had experienced it throw up a mini golf ball…"

Troy looked at Gabriella weirdly, and she had a disgusted look on her face. "Yeah um…not a very good sight…" She ended sadly, shaking her head from the thoughts.

Suddenly, she felt herself smiling because of Troy's roaring laughter. "Oh gosh Gabriella…you are something you know that? I hope your dog was okay because…well that was just sad" He chuckled, and Gabriella felt herself giggling along.

"Yeah it was…" Gabriella drifted off, and suddenly felt like she was really close to Troy. Almost as if both of their instincts told them so, she felt herself looking up into his big ocean blue eyes.

And without realizing it, she felt herself inching closer and closer towards her face….

And then a flashback suddenly crossed her mind. _Mom he didn't love me…he said he did, but he didn't! _Gabriella gasped and pulled away from him suddenly, when their lips were only centimeters apart.

"What?" Troy asked quickly, his eyes sort of unfocused.

"I have to go…" Gabriella said, and without telling Troy another word, she threw her cone in the garbage can next to the bench and ran away from Troy.

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

_I really actually liked how this chapter turned out! I hope you guys liked the little saying from the past in the end…maybe you can start seeing the outline to the story now._

_Anyways, I won't be updating until I return from my cruise to Mexico and Belize, but that's only a week long. So I will be back in no time! Everyone stay safe, and have a great start of Summer…or a great week for those who are finishing up school!_

_**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**_


	7. Bottling It All Up

**A/N: **_Hello guys! I'm back from my cruise…it was really amazing, and so much fun! But I am back, and I missed fan fiction a lot while I was gone. Aha, yeah…I must be sort of obsessed. Oh well…it's time to update!_

_Also…soon I will be taking __**High School Never Ends **__off the HIATUS status…I'm ready to start it up again and finish it for good. Also, the second part to the one-shot __**There You'll Be **__should be up soon, followed by the reunion of __**It's Girls Against Boys! **__Yay!_

_**PLEASE R&R!**_

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**Chapter 7: **Bottling It Up

Gabriella threw open the front door and closed it almost as fast as she had opened it. Resting her head against the back of it, Gabriella closed her eyes and drew out a long breath. _Oh my gosh…I can't believe all this is happening._

"Gabriella…is that you?" Gabriella's mother called out, walking into the foyer when she saw her daughter standing there rubbing her eyes sadly. "Are you okay sweetie?"

"Yeah mom…I'm just fine" Gabriella chorused in a monotone voice, and her face showed no emotion. She decided to ignore the looks her mother was giving her, because that was her way of telling her mother that she didn't want to talk about it.

Gabriella's mother sighed and crossed her arms. Gabriella groaned inwardly…she knew her mom well enough to know that was HER way of telling herself that she wasn't going to believe her. "Gabriella…"

"No mom" Gabriella quickly cut her mother off, putting up a hand to signal her to stop, "I'm just fine. Now if you excuse me, I want to go upstairs and try and study."

Her mother stayed quiet as Gabriella brushed quickly past her and padded up the steps. She just sighed…it must've been about her father again.

After all, tomorrow it will be 10 years…

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Opening the door softly to her room, Gabriella trudged her feet across the floor, and landed face down on her bed. Groaning, Gabriella talked to herself, "How come trusting Troy is just so…so hard?"

"I have no clue…you should be able to trust me Gabriella…" Troy's voice suddenly said, and Gabriella shot up straight from her bed and turned to the figure by her balcony. Troy was standing in the middle of the doorway, and he was frowning.

"What-what are you doing here?" Gabriella asked quickly, noticing that her hair was sticking up, and brushed it to the side. Gulping, Gabriella watched as Troy took a step toward her.

"Well…no one answered the front door, and I found a new way to get up here because I knew you had to be home…and plus, your balcony door was open…" Troy rambled, but stopped short as Gabriella cut him off,

"No…I meant, what are you doing _here_?"

Troy let her words sink in, and finally got what she was saying. Scratching the back of his neck nervously he replied, "Well you know…you kind of ran out on me without an explanation, and you seemed sort of upset…"

Gabriella groaned and sat on the edge of her bed. "Troy…I don't want to be rude to you. Heck…I would never want to be rude to anybody! But sometimes…you need to just let me do things my way. It is my life…and I don't need someone to always be there to support me!"

Troy was taken aback by her actions. He never expected her to blow up like that. "I just wanted to see if you were okay!" Troy exclaimed, defending himself.

"Well my mother does enough of that. I don't need someone else to be a back-up!" Gabriella shouted this time…and her words hit Troy like bricks. "Please…" Gabriella continued, looking down, "Just go."

Troy backed up and started to walk out to the balcony...but somehow he couldn't stop himself from turning around and throwing something back at her. "You know…I thought it was a little weird coming in here and hearing you talk about how you can't trust me…but I haven't even done anything to you. All this time I've been trying to get to know you, and I haven't even judged you."

"Troy…" Gabriella started, but he continued as if he hadn't noticed her talking.

"But really? I guess we are kind of different. You don't even know _me _and you're already judging me…" Troy ended. Turning around quickly, he walked out her balcony and started going back down her tree.

Not being able to stop herself, Gabriella stood up and jogged herself through her balcony doors and watched Troy slide down the tree. "Troy I'm just not feeling well…"

"I don't want to hear about an excuse, Gabriella. I know the real you is in there somewhere…and I know that you're not ready to tell me whatever is going on. But really…I'm done trying to get you to at least _accept_ me as a friend. I'll see you around…" Troy paused on the tree for a moment and looked up at me.

But that was all soon lost, as he made his way down the tree, and pretty much out of my life. As I felt a tear slide down my cheek, someone put their arm around me. "Sweetheart…I heard everything."

Gabriella looked up to see her mom standing there, looking down at her with sad eyes. Gabriella suddenly grew angry and she lightly pushed her mom off of her. "Mom…please. I've heard enough for one night."

Gabriella's mother sighed and watched as her daughter made her way back into her room and sat on the bed. Taking no extra time, she made a move to sit down next to her. Draping an arm casually around her shoulder again, she pulled Gabriella into a hug,

"Gabi…I'm not trying to push you to do anything you don't want to do. But at least admit that Troy is partly right and you're partly right. It is your life and what you do with it is entirely up to you…but honey, keeping this all bottled up inside isn't going to help."

Gabriella sighed, knowing her mom was right about everything. "I know…but I just can't…" Gabriella whispered, feeling tears well up again. "It hurts too much."

Gabriella felt her mother tighten her grip on her. "I know Gabi…it still hurts for me. But the best way to deal with the pain of losing your father the way you did, is to talk about it."

Gabriella felt herself choke back her tears, but yet her mom still held her while she cried, like she did when she was a little girl. Back when it all happened…Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut. No…she wasn't going to go back to that nightmare again.

She promised herself. "Mom…it'll be 10 years tomorrow. I don't know if I can handle it. Especially since I know…since I know Troy won't be there to comfort me" Gabriella admitted, and Mrs. Montez lifted her daughter's head to make her look at her.

"Gabriella…that boy isn't going anywhere. No matter how he sounded today…or what he told you, he's the kind of boy that will stick around. If he sees you upset, it'll probably break his heart. And honey…that's another reason why you need to realize your problem before it's too late."

Leaving her daughter with that, Mrs. Montez placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead, and left the room to give her time alone.

Gabriella sighed and looked over to the big brown teddy bear lying on her bed that brought back so many memories,

"But that's the problem mom. I don't think I _can _handle it."

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

_Aw man. Sorry, it just had to be a sad moment for Troy and Gabriella. In the next chapter, it's very important. Gabriella finally reveals the event of her dad's tragedy…and it's not JUST what you think it is._

_I will be updating a lot more often, considering it's SUMMER! So expect an update later this week!_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!**_ _**:-)**_


	8. 10 Years

**A/N: **_Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated for a couple of weeks. Dance has started up again, I've been baby-sitting, and hanging out with friends. But I have a free night tonight, so I am back to updating!_

_So I left you guys off last chapter with a very sad Troy and Gabriella. And in this chapter, Gabriella spills the beans about her past…but not to who you think._

_Read to find out! __**PLEASE R&R!!!!!!!**_

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**Chapter 8: **10 Years

Gabriella arrived at school the next morning with dark circles under her eyes, and it was very clear that she had gotten no sleep. Walking inside the doors of East High, she felt a lot of eyes on her. People had noticed how close she had gotten to Troy the last couple of weeks…and the girl that was usually so bright, spirited, and mysterious had turned into someone with absolutely no energy at all.

Not paying any attention at all whatsoever, she walked up to her locker and opened it ins self-conscience, now noticing the whispers and stares. Sighing to herself, she grabbed her notebook and folder for her first class, and slammed her locker door shut.

"Come on Gabi, let's get to class" Gabriella suddenly felt someone touch her back lightly, and looked up to see Taylor standing there looking at her. Pushing her down the hall and helping her make her way through the crowded people, Taylor had said nothing else to Gabriella the whole time. But to Gabriella's dismay, she snuck worried glances over at her every once and a while.

While Gabriella walked, she avoided the stares of her fellow classmates and just looked straight ahead. In her mind, she was thinking about the two reasons she hadn't gotten any sleep last night. One, she was too busy staring at the ceiling, thinking about what Troy had said…and how much she knew he was right. And two, she thought about the next day…how she knew it would've been 10 years since her dad's tragedy.

Briskly stepping faster as she kept walking and walking, she knew she was going to see him sometime. But she didn't know she'd see him in the next few minutes. Looking at the wrong time to the right, she saw Troy standing there with his buddies.

And she tried everything not to look back over again.

Even in those short few moments of glancing at Troy, she saw the look in his eyes. That was the look of confusion, as his eyes swept over the students who kept casting looks at Gabriella. She knew he knew they were talking, but she just kept on walking anyway.

Finally coming to a halt in front of their homeroom class, Taylor pulled Gabriella to a corner quickly, and asked her a burning question. "Gabriella…sweetie, what's wrong? What did Troy do?"

Gabriella cast Taylor a look, seeing out of the corner of her eye that Troy had walked into the classroom, and was watching them. "What makes you think any of this has to do with Troy?" She hissed at her a little bit more menacingly than she meant to.

Taylor took a step back. Staring straight into her friends eyes, she saw a look of hurt, and a burning flame that was about to ignite. "Let's just get in our seats before Ms. Darbus yells at us" Taylor whispered softly, and then walked passed Gabriella without another word.

Watching Taylor pass her, Gabriella felt her shoulder slump. Why is everyone making this such a big deal?

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Gabriella felt like the day was dragging by very slowly, and she always felt like she was dying with every class she had with either Troy or Taylor. She felt them both sneaking glances at her occasionally, both with worried looks.

And then finally during fourth period, she ended up cracking. Both Troy and Taylor were in that class with her…and she suddenly felt like she was sweating profusely. And that her breathing became shallow…somewhere along the lines she could here her teacher talking about a king who inherited the throne from his father.

And then she just snapped. Her throat had gone dry, and she felt the tears starting to leak. The teacher stopped what she was doing and looked at Gabriella worriedly. "Ms. Montez…are you alright dear?"

Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut tightly, and she heard Troy breathed out lightly. "Gabi…"

"May I use the bathroom?" Gabriella chocked out her question, and her tears almost blocked out her vision, but she saw just enough to see her teacher nod her head.

And without another look at anyone, Gabriella burst through the door, sobbing uncontrollably. Placing herself against the wall outside, Gabriella felt herself slide all the way down. The tears were slowly falling freely, and she was now in control. Putting her head in her hands, she let out a huge breath, scrunching onto her hair tightly.

Without noticing, Taylor had bent down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Gabi…what happened back in there needs some explanation. Obviously you need to talk to someone…" Taylor started to say but Gabriella forcefully cut her off.

"Taylor, just listen please. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm sorry to Troy, for ignoring him and pushing him out. But I don't need people telling me what to do all the time!" Gabriella screamed, and she knew probably most of the classroom could hear her.

Taylor sat down on the floor next to Gabriella and just took a deep breath. "I know Gabi…but please?" Taylor pleaded, and Gabriella glanced at her. The look of desperation in Taylor's eyes was almost too much for Gabriella to bear.

Gabriella started shaking as she squeezed her eyes shut. Taylor could tell that this was hard for her, and all she did was stay crouched beside her and hold her shoulder.

"It was ten years ago to this day…I was 5 years old…"

_FLASHBACK_

"_Why? Why are you doing this George?" Gabriella's mother Lisa stood by the doorway, yelling at her husband. 5 year old Gabriella was watching the whole interaction from the stairs, and she had tears in her eyes._

"_Lisa…I told you a million times! I __met__ someone else!" George shouted back, putting a hand on the door, preparing to yank it open._

_Lisa's words stung Gabriella's heart forever, "But what about Gabi? You can't just leave your five year old daughter like this!" _

_George glared at his ex-wife as he opened the door and coldly said, "I think she'll be just fine." And without another word, or a goodbye to his loving daughter, he slammed the door behind him._

_Lisa Montez stood there shaking with sobs, as she heard a figure climb down the stairs, and turned around. Gabriella stood there, with her arms around herself. Scared tears were streaming and she spoke with a small voice, "Mommy? Is daddy ever coming back?"_

_Lisa crouched down next to her daughter and pulled her into a tight hug. "I don't think so sweetie…" She whispered tearfully, and Gabriella felt her whole world shatter when she realized he probably wasn't coming back._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Gabriella kept her head hung low, and heard Taylor gasp softly, before clamping a hand to her mouth. "Gabriella…I'm so sorry" Taylor said softly, pulling Gabriella into her own hug now, and let her friend sob on her shoulder.

"Tay…I never realized…that the same day he left, I knew he wasn't ever going to come back. Ever." Gabriella had sobbed that into her shoulder, and Taylor pulled back still keeping a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Gabi…what are you talking about?" Taylor glanced at her curiously, and that just made Gabriella burst into more tears.

Gabriella was shaking with sobs, and Taylor asked over and over again what had happened after that. She instead, just shoved Taylor off of her and stood up wiping her eyes angrily. "My dad isn't ever coming back! You know why? Because he's DEAD! He died that day, Tay!" She screamed furiously, just as the bell rang.

Taylor stood frozen, and so did Gabriella. She choked back tears, and the look in her eyes was almost unbearable. "Gabi…"

Gabriella held up a hand quickly, drying her tears so no one got even more suspicious than they had been. Taylor looked behind her and saw Troy walking up to them, still with a worried look plastered on his face.

"My dad is NEVER coming back! And it hurts that he led me on to believe he loved me, knowing fully well if he met someone better, I would just be yesterday's news!" She spat out angrily, more at him than anyone else. And then as she looked towards the ground she lowered her voice to a whisper,

"He was my best friend. And he BETRAYED me."

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

_Well, how do you like that for an ending? Now for all of you that realized that Troy was waking up to them…don't worry. He comes in at the VERY beginning of the next chapter. And you probably figured out that he probably caught the last part of her speech to Taylor?_

_Well…you'll have to see his reaction in the next chapter!_

_Soo…you guys know what to do! Please tell me what you thought of this chapter, because it was the most important one so far!!! I will update when I can!_

_**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**_


	9. Scared Of Love

**A/N: **_Hey guys! I'm back with another update. In the time between this, I was thinking up chapters for a NEW story. But guess what?? I won't post it until I have all the chapters written, because I hate not updating in forever when I have other obligations._

_But it's a short story, only about 5-6 chapters, so it shouldn't take me long to get it written! Well anyways, enough about that, on with the chapter!_

_Hmm…by the way, about 3-4 chapters left of this story. Maybe less!_

_**PLEASE R&R!!!!**_

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**Chapter 9: **Scared Of Love

Taylor didn't know what to say afterwards. Part of her was shocked of how quickly Gabriella seemed to open up to her, and another part of her was still comprehending that Troy was now standing behind Gabriella…

And that he heard every little detail.

It took a few moments before Gabriella could even look back up at Taylor, and Troy seemed to stand still like a rock that wouldn't move.

Gabriella wiped the tears quickly from her eyes, seeing the students pass by and sending them glances. After gazing around at the now crowded hallways, she looked back to Taylor, and saw the shocked look on her face. Gabriella sighed,

"Tay…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" Gabriella held a hand to her head and sort of seemed to murmur to herself. And without Taylor even thinking as to what she was doing, Gabriella quickly spun around, only to ram straight into Troy's body.

Gabriella gasped and looked up, finding herself staring into those familiar blue eyes. Troy frowned down at her, and Gabriella felt like time was standing still.

"You heard…didn't you…" Gabriella whispered, and Troy said nothing. But Gabriella already knew what that answer was.

And before anyone else could say anymore, she took off running down the hallway.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Unbelievably, Gabriella had managed to avoid her friends for the rest of the day. Everyone time she saw Taylor, she completely dodged her. And whenever Troy was in one of her classes….well that wasn't hard…he seemed to kind of be in a trance anyway.

And when Gabriella had arrived home, she smelled her mom's cooking. Knowing that her mother must have come home early, she threw her backpack on the couch, and headed straight into the kitchen.

Her mom was in there chopping onions, and looked up when her daughter entered the room. She smiled, "Oh hey honey, how was school?"

Gabriella walked straight up to her and slammed her fists down on the counter. "I want to move" Gabriella said in a cold, harsh voice. Her mother seemed taken aback by this statement…but she knew what that meant.

"Gabri…" Her mother started, but Gabriella quickly cut her off.

"_No_. I want to move mom, and I want to move SOON."

Just as her mother was about to respond, the doorbell sounded, both of them slightly annoyed. Wiping her hands on her apron, Mrs. Montez head to the front door and opened it.

And Taylor stood behind it, with a worried expression on her face. "Well hello there!" Mrs. Montez greeted kindly, knowing this was one of Gabriella's friends. Gabriella had now come up behind her mother, and groaned when she saw Taylor.

"Gabriella…may I talk to you?" Taylor asked her gently, looking at her pleadingly, "Please."

Gabriella sighed and looked away, and was about to walk off, when her mother caught her arm. "Why don't you come on in Taylor…you may be able to help Gabriella and try and change her mind about moving…" Mrs. Montez told her kindly, opening the door wider for her.

But Taylor seemed to stand where she was. "Moving?" Taylor asked terrified, and looked at Gabriella to confirm. Gabriella just nodded numbly, crossing her arms, refusing to look at her.

"_Mija you will drop the attitude!_" Mrs. Montez whispered angrily at her daughter, and shoved her gently towards Taylor. "Now talk to her…this will help honey. Trust me" She continued, more sweetly, gently placing a kiss on Gabriella's forehead before walking back into the kitchen.

Gabriella sighed, and kept her gaze onto the floor. Taylor just still stared at her, her mouth gaped open. "Moving? Gabi no…please say it isn't true?" Taylor said, tears stinging her eyes.

Looking up at her friend, Gabriella just shot her down. "No Taylor…I'm not going to say that" She hissed, walking passes her, and into the living room.

Sighing and holding back tears, Taylor followed her. "Gabi please…please don't move. Think about Troy, he really cares about you and…don't do this because of what happened. We all are here for you! All of us…" Taylor continued talking, and Gabriella could tell she was trying not to cry. Even though she wasn't looking at her.

When Gabriella kept her eyes on the ground and didn't respond, Taylor felt the tears leaking from her eyes. "What about me?" She managed to squeak out, her eyes almost burning from how hard she kept her stare on Gabriella.

This caught Gabriella's attention. Slowly but surely, she looked up at Taylor. But when she did, Taylor quickly looked away and continued talking. "You are my first best friend…that I think I've ever had. And…I'm grateful for you. Someone, that I know I can always connect with…and...I need you."

This almost broke Gabriella's heart. She felt it shatter into pieces, like she knew how Taylor must have felt when she told her she was wanting to move away. Without realization to what she was doing, she stood up.

And as quickly as she stood, she turned Taylor around to face her…and then pulled her into a hug, as Taylor cried on her shoulder. "Please Gabi, don't move. Don't take the best friendship I've ever had, away from me" She cried on her shoulder, and all Gabriella could really do was stand there.

She almost felt as if a whole bunch of love was trying to fill that whole in her heart. Someone cared…someone actually cared about Gabriella Montez other than her mother…and it felt really good.

"It's okay Tay…I'm not moving" She decided, and that quickly got Taylor to dry up her tears. Looking at Gabriella in the eyes, she only nodded sending Taylor into a fit of screams.

"OH MY GOSH!! You're not moving!" Taylor burst out into relief, and hugged Gabriella all over again, squeezing her tightly. Gabriella coughed out, needing to breathe, and Taylor finally released her grip.

Afterward, Gabriella just giggled a bit, before looking back at the ground. "I'm scared Taylor…" She whispered, and Taylor shot her a look.

"Scared of what?"

Gabriella looked back up at Taylor, and gulped. And as honestly as she could, she said these very words:

"I'm scared of love."

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

_Well, what did you guys think? I know there wasn't much Troy in this chapter either. :-( But he plays a major part in the next one…you'll see._

_Anyways, I'm currently also working on my new story, and also on a new one-shot that should be out soon! But for now, keep reading this story please! And also, __**High School Never Ends **__will probably be picked back up sometime this month!_

_Thanks guys!!!_

_**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**_


	10. Me, You, and the Park

**A/N: **_Hey guys! I'm sorry…I've been trying to update as much as I can. Luckily, I don't think I have much to do the whole next week…so I'll try and get some major updating in! After I finish this chapter, I'm going to go ahead and start working on the next chapter of my still untitled new story! Yay!_

_Anyways, hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Troy's in this one…mmhmm…_

_**PLEASE R&R!!!!!**_

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**Chapter 10: **Me, You, and the Park

After the talk with Taylor, Gabriella decided it was best if she got out and got some fresh air, while taking a walk around the park. In her mind, Gabriella reminded herself that she'd talk to Troy tomorrow…and try her hardest to make things right with him.

Stopping at the ice cream stand around the corner from the park, Gabriella grinned and asked the man for a chocolate cone. He handed it to her, and after expressing a thanks, she headed off towards the swings.

Finding a nice one, away from everyone, Gabriella sat herself down in the swing, gently swaying herself from forward to back. Licking on her ice cream, Gabriella sighed and looked up at the sky. It was a nice night, and the breeze felt extremely relaxing on her skin.

"You know…" A voice suddenly said, and Gabriella turned her head to see Troy sitting in the swing next to her, "I've heard that ice cream is really good."

Gabriella's lips curved into a small smile, and she looked back up into the sky. "Yeah…I learned that from a very convincing guy…" She played along, staring at the dark night.

For a moment, they both just sat there looking up at the stars, as they silently swung back and forth in their swings. After finishing her ice cream, Gabriella got up and threw it away, and sat back down in silence as if nothing had happened.

Troy suddenly cleared his throat. "Uhm…Taylor said I could find you here."

Gabriella broke away from her gaze on the stars, and looked towards Troy. "Yeah…I told her that I needed to get out of the house…you know…" She stated, referring to what had happened earlier that day.

Troy just nodded in return, and looked away. Gabriella could tell he was still kind of hurting, and she sighed. "I'm sorry you had to see my little outburst today…" Gabriella said, looking away from him quickly after saying that.

Feeling Troy's gaze on her again, she turned her head again to see him just staring at her. Not saying a word. "It wasn't fair to you that I confided in Taylor before you…" Gabriella apologized, getting what she needed to say out of her system.

Feeling the tears well up, Troy actually responded. "I get it Gabriella…she's your best friend…" He told her straight forward, swallowing the huge lump that was in his throat.

Gabriella just stared down, pinching her toes in the woodchips, swinging back and forth on the swing. "But Troy…you're a great friend to me too" She responded truthfully, looking into his eyes for a second.

Troy broke the gaze and looked up yet again. "But obviously not good enough…" She heard him mumble softly, obviously knowing he didn't mean for her to hear that.

Gabriella felt her heart break in two, just hearing those words. The tears now cascaded down her eyes, but she still kept her steady gaze on him. "I'm so sorry Troy…I really wanted to talk to you…but Taylor was just right THERE when I needed someone and…I just had to burst, I couldn't control it anymore."

Troy heard the shakiness in her voice, and glanced at her, to see tears streaming down her face. She had buried her head in the side of the swing, and was now crying softly. "So…I'm sorry Troy" She finally said, getting up slowly, and preparing to walk away.

Before she could get far, Gabriella felt someone grab a hold of her hand, and she stopped in her tracks. "Now just hold it a second, will you?" Troy asked her, gently pulling her towards him. "Don't you dare say you're sorry…"

Gabriella gasped, and looked up at Troy….fear evident in her eyes. Troy sighed and dropped his gaze to the ground, slowly kicking some of the woodchips. "When I'm the one that should be sorry…"

Gabriella took a step back, and looked at Troy in confusion. "You? What have you got to be sorry for?" She asked him quizzically, and he just sighed, still not looking at her.

"For everything…" Troy mumbled, finally glancing back up at Gabriella, "For trying to pressure you into telling me what was wrong…it was completely wrong of me…and even worse of trying to accuse you of judging me. It was completely wrong on my part…"

Grabbing her hands, Troy pulled Gabriella toward him, and into a hug. "But no one should feel even sorrier than your dad Gabriella. You don't deserve what he did to you and your mom…and you also don't deserve what had happened afterward…I'm so sorry" He whispered gently into her hair, kissing her forehead sweetly.

Troy let Gabriella gently cry into his chest, and he just rubbed her back in soothing circles, to help try and comfort her. "It'll be okay Gabriella…it'll all be okay" He said in a gentle, loving voice.

Gabriella sniffled into his chest, and used all of her strength to look back up into Troy's eyes. Troy took notice of this, and for the first time…he actually knew Gabriella Montez was staring back.

Brushing his thumb across her face, he wiped away her tears. "Your pretty face doesn't need to be full of tears" Troy teased, as Gabriella giggled.

She rolled her eyes, and swatted him on the shoulder before pulling away. Giving him a soft smile, she headed back over to the swings, and gently sat back down again. Troy seemed to follow her in suit, sitting down on the seat next to her.

Gabriella suddenly got an idea, and swung her seat side to side instead…ramming her seat against the side of Troy's. "Hey!" He said offended, starting to do the same as her, ramming against her seat as well.

They both laughed at each other, and smiled. As Troy saw Gabriella's seat flying towards him, he took this as an opportunity to grab a hold of her swing, and stop her from moving back over. "Troy…stop!" Gabriella pleaded, bursting into a fit of giggles.

Troy chuckled, but still held onto her swing. "Now this is the Gabriella I want to know…the one who has such a great life ahead of her…and will accomplish anything she sets her mind to…" Troy told her softly, giving her a grin.

Gabriella looked at him seriously, and gave him a sly look. "Anything?" She asked him curiously, and he just nodded.

"Anything."

Gabriella, not realizing how close their faces were, inched closer and closer to him until their noses touched. Feeling that sudden spark, Gabriella gasped, and pulled away blushing furiously.

Troy gulped, and let go of her swing, watching her swing to the other side. "Uh…sorry…" He said sheepishly, feeling the heat creep up on his cheeks.

Gabriella laughed nervously, and twirled a piece of her dark curls around on her finger. "It's okay…it's okay…" She assured him, throwing him a smile his way.

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

_Awww…I'm almost crying at them being so happy again. This story has felt so dark to me…LOL. Time to spice it up! Hehe. So actually, I'm thinking only about 2 to 3 more chapters left of this story._

_Then it's bon voyage to Troy and Gabriella…at least until I get my new story put up! _

_**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**_


	11. No Longer Scared Of Love

**A/N: Hey guys! I am so tired of having to say this…but I am truly sorry for not updating in over a month. It always feels that way, and I feel guilty for taking 6 months to write an 11 chapter story.**

**Yes, I said 11 chapters…which means I have decided this is going to be the LAST chapter of this story. I decided not to bore you guys by droning on and on…hehe. Yeah, actually, originally I was going to split this chapter into two parts. But I decided that it'll fit into one. :-) **

**And also, there will be no epilogue. Actually this is sort of an epilogue, because it takes place three months later…but of course we still have some loose strings to tie up. Sp here we go! And also before I forget, I want to thank EVERYONE from the bottom of my heart, for all the GREAT reviews! They mean a lot to me! Thanks!**

**PLEASE R&R!!!!**

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**Chapter 11: **No Longer Scared Of Love

_Three months later…_

Gabriella set a few dishes in the sink, at the back of the restaurant, and wiped her hands on the towel. Smiling to herself, she taped up a new order, and then slipped her notepad back into her pocket. She looked up and noticed her mother standing in the doorway of the kitchen, talking in a heated discussion to the owner. Gabriella rolled her eyes and giggled, as she made her way past them, and out the doors.

She heard a large chatter in a very big corner booth of the place, and she raised her eyebrows in surprise, knowing that it was only nine o'clock on a Saturday morning. Casting her eyes at the table, her smile now went all the way up her cheeks.

Heading towards them, they heard their laughter die down as she approached. "Well, well, well…who do we have here?" Gabriella smirked, and sat down in the empty seat next to Chad, while rubbing his afro head of hair.

Before Chad could protest, the whole group laughed, and Gabriella glanced at each one of them. Looking across from her, she noticed Troy sitting quietly in the booth, his eyes boring into hers as she stared, and he gave a wink at her. Looking down and blushing profusely, Gabriella looked back up to see Taylor smirking at her with a knowing glance.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and her face turned back to normal color, "So anyways guys, what shall all of you be having today?" She stood back up and straightened her work skirt, as she took out her notepad again, and waited for them to tell her their orders.

"I think you know what we all will be having" Zeke Baylor insisted, and gave Gabriella a smile as she laughed. Everyone else agreed, and Gabriella just looked at them with raised eyebrows.

"Are you kidding me? You guys have come here every morning for the past five days, and you all want the same thing _again_?" Gabriella asked them shocked, and a whole chorus of yes's went through the table.

"Now, now Gabriella" Troy started in a playful tone, "Are you trying to talk us out of eating what we want to? Besides…make sure you know I want _extra _strawberries on my pancakes" Troy finished, and everyone roared with laughter. He gave Gabriella a smirk, and she just grinned giddily.

"Yeah, yeah I got it…sir doof-a-lot" Gabriella muttered, as she started to write down what she was used to by now. Troy just playfully kicked her foot, and she glared at him.

"Okay guys, enough flirting…it's about to make me sick" Sharpay Evans groaned, and Zeke patted her on the back affectionately. Both Troy and Gabriella turned crimson, and Gabriella made no note to look up from her piece of paper.

After jotting down all the orders, Gabriella clicked her pen closed. "Alright guys, I will be right back. Chad, don't set the curtains on fire" Gabriella said half-serious, and half-jokingly, and Chad just glared at her.

As she retreated, the gang started back up talking again, besides Troy who was too busy staring after Gabriella. Taylor side and put a hand on his shoulder. "Troy…it's been three months. Don't you think Gabriella has had enough time to get used to you?" She asked him, and Troy just shrugged.

"I don't want to push her into anything…I don't want her to get scared of me again" Troy admitted shyly, and Taylor just smiled.

"Trust me. She won't…if I know Gabriella like I think I do, she's ready by now" Taylor encouraged him, and Troy just smiled back. Everyone was now listening to their conversation, and Troy just looked around at all his friends who were nodding their heads.

"Well maybe it's a good thing I'm planning something today, isn't it?" Troy smirked.

**--**

Smiling to herself, Gabriella headed back into the kitchen as she set some glasses under the drink machine, and pressed 'start' on different ones, as the drinks started coming out of them. While waiting for the drinks, Gabriella glanced back at the kitchen door where her mother and manager stood, still talking, and she just kept grinning widely.

When the drinks finished, she took a few and put them on her tray, and stood up, ready to walk out the door again. This time when she passed, she heard her manage talking to her mother,

"So Lisa, I was wondering if you would maybe like to have dinner with me some time?"

She watched as her mother nodded a yes, and Gabriella beamed, biting her lip ecstatically as she walked backwards out of the door. Gabriella was even happier than she was as she approached the table the last time, and everyone gave her an odd look.

"Uh Gabriella…are you okay?" Kelsi asked her softly, and Troy glanced up and met Gabriella's shining eyes. He gave her a smile…and she just nodded her head towards the door, where Lisa Montez and the manager were walking out of, Lisa's arm linked to his.

Troy finally understood, and he grabbed her hand when she was near him, and gave it a squeeze. Gabriella looked at their hands and bit her lip again, pulling away from him, as she went back. "Enjoy guys" She called out from behind her, and went to waitress for some other people.

He watched her back, as she laughed with some of her customers, and she tugged a piece of fly away hair behind her ears as she wrote down another order.

This was the day, and he knew it.

**--**

Gabriella was walking towards her mother, and heard her flirting with the boss again. This time she restrained herself from rolling her eyes as she walked past them. "Finally, Mr. T" Gabriella called to her boss, and he just laughed at her.

"Thanks Gabriella…hey, you are doing great with the customers this morning" He called back sincerely, and she nodded a thanks at him, with her back to the kitchen doorway again.

"It's not that hard really…especially when most of them are my friends" Gabriella shrugged, and pointed to the group at the back table.

Mrs. Montez looked back there, and saw Troy talking casually at the front of the booth with the group, but occasionally glancing towards Gabriella's way. She smirked, and turned to her daughter, "Well honey, once you come home I want you to tell me all about your day. I have a feeling I won't be the only one getting a date today."

With a quick wink to Gabriella, Lisa turned and kissed her manage on the cheek, before walking out of the front doors. Gabriella stood there staring after her mother in shock, but then she just smile to herself.

"Good luck, Gabriella" Her manager grinned, as he retreated behind the kitchen doors.

**--**

Bye guys!" Gabriella exclaimed, and a whole round of hugs, byes, and promises to meet up later went around the room, and one by one the gang headed out of the front doors. Troy was the last person to be hug, and he just grinned at her, waiting until everyone was out of the restaurant before he did anything.

As Taylor left, Troy grasped Gabriella's hand and pulled her to him, squeezing her tight to him. Troy kept a hold of her hand as she noticed, burying his face into her hair. Kissing the top of her head lightly, he pulled back from the hug. "I'll be seeing you later Gabriella" He grinned softly, before slowly releasing her hand and walking out the doors.

Gabriella watched him go, but look curiously down at her hand, where a now crumbled up piece of paper lay. Opening it up quickly, she scanned the note, and just smiled.

**--**

Gabriella rounded the corner of houses, and stopped at the front of one of the lawns, noticing a guy sitting on a bench swing, staring off into the distance. Smiling to herself, she made her way up to sidewalk, and onto the porch, plopping down in the spot next to him.

Startled, Troy looked over and saw Gabriella sitting there. "Hey there, stranger" He said to her, taking this opportunity to lay his hand on the back of the swing, very close to wrapping around Gabriella's arms.

Gabriella giggled, and rolled her eyes. "Well you left me a note in my hand telling me to come here…so here I am" She said perkily, folding her hands together in her lap.

"Well…" Troy droned out, and Gabriella hit him on the chest. Troy chuckled, "Alright, so I asked you to meet me because well…we haven't had too much time to spend together lately…and I wanted to tell you something."

Gabriella was now looking at him curiously, her heart speeding up. "What?"

Troy looked up to the sky and then back down to meet Gabriella's eyes again. "I just wanted to say that, the way you've handled things these past few months, that I'm…very proud of you" He told her straight up, never taking his eyes off her. "I mean, I know it hasn't been the easiest time for you and I hope…"

Gabriella placed two fingers upon Troy's lips and gave him a watery smile. "I get it Troy. Thank you…I'm very proud of myself actually" She started, her eyes now boring into his again, "Moving to Albuquerque was the best thing that ever happened to me though…my mother is finally happy with someone…someone that is like a father figure to me. And then all my friends who have always supported me…and of course you."

Gabriella nudged him, and he just looked down smiling, scratching the back of his neck. "I mean it Troy…I'm blessed to have what I have."

Troy looked into her eyes with all the love he could muster, and gently unfolded her hands and took them into his. "Gabriella…I'm really blessed to have you, too" He whispered softly, and she saw herself cracking a smile.

She reached up to touch Troy's cheek, and kept her hand placed there, as Troy wrapped an arm around her petite frame. Both succumbing what was a moment away, they closed their eyes instinctively, leaving forward and meeting each other's lips.

They kissed like there was no tomorrow…and no more pain of the past. And that was because they both knew that the past didn't matter anymore…and no one should ever have to concentrate on anything but what was happening right at that moment.

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

**And the end!!! Wow, thank you guys so much for the support in this story…it was very much appreciated! I hope the ending wasn't too clichéd…I tried to make it different from other endings of my story.**

**Like I said, that was the LAST chapter, and there will be no epilogue. Just because I think it's not needed for this. :-)**

**Anyways, I am well into my new story, and I already have a few chapters written! So it should not be too long until I get the trailer posted for that. I am actually going to write all of the story before I post it…so I won't disappoint you guys anymore.**

**In the meantime, I hope you have enjoyed this story, and there might be some future one-shots coming up! Thanks again guys!**

**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**


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